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Wild
Landscapes • Spring Flora • Archaeological
Sites • Cultural Heritage
SARDINIA IN SPRING
OVERVIEW
Described by D.H.Lawrence as “a wide, almost Celtic
landscape of hills,” Sardinia sometimes gives
the impression of being lost in space and time. With
its fascinating archaeological heritage, a remarkably
varied landscape, wonderful spring flora, excellent
wildlife sites, and ever-improving gastronomy, Sardinia
is a most special—and as yet untapped—Mediterranean
destination.
For this 13-day expedition, we have chosen a broad range
of Sardinia’s highlights for you to sample and
enjoy, designed to give you a flavor of the island’s
heritage, flora, and fauna. Our tour is timed to coincide
with spring migration and flowering, so temperatures
and landscapes will be at their best.
We have carefully chosen bases around the island which
will ensure coverage of Sardinia’s distinctive
regions. Our first base is in Alghero, a town with a
centuries-old Catalan heritage on Sardinia’s dramatic
northwest coast.
From there we move to the Gallura region in the northeast,
a curious landscape with pink granite formations. From
our base in Santa Teresa we explore the island’s
prehistoric Nuraghic culture and cross to the island
of Caprera, in the heart of the National Park of the
Maddalena Archipelago.
Our next stop is the old town of Oristano, a convenient
base for excursions to the Sinis peninsula, the remarkable
Phoenician and Roman site of Tharros, and the basalt
plateau of Giara di Gesturi, now an enthralling nature
preserve.
After a night’s stay near Uta at the foothills
of Monte Arcosu, we arrive at our final destination
of Cagliari, famous for its Roman remains, its archaeological
museum, the Botanical Gardens, and the old town perched
above the seafront.
Leading this tour will be Mark Walters, a Mediterranean
classicist and naturalist, and Richard Turner editor
of Pacific Horticulture. Joining them will be local
botanical guests.
We invite you to join us as we explore the wild landscapes
and flora of Sardinia.
ITINERARY
Days 1/2 New York to Alghero
Depart New York for Rome and then fly to Alghero. Transfer
to the Hotel Florida in Alghero (3 nights). D
Day 3 Alghero
This morning we will take a walking tour of Alghero.
We will learn about the extensive Catalan influence
in the area as we tour its well-preserved old town,
visiting its ancient churches and other monuments. After
breaking for lunch near the pedestrianized Piazza Civica
by the port, we reconvene for an afternoon excursion
to the dramatic limestone cape of Capo Caccia. We will
take a coastal walk on a path past a medieval watchtower
through thick Mediterranean maquis vegetation in full
bloom. This is the dominant form of vegetation across
much of Sardinia: the gentler sloping east-facing surfaces
at the cape are carpeted with such shrubs as prickly
juniper, lentisc and myrtle, while Cistus monspeliensis
and Calicotome villosa will be in full flower. This
will also be an opportunity to discuss the use and symbolism
of certain maquis plants in antiquity. Evening lecture.
B,D
Day 4 Lake Baratz & Anghelu Ruiu
Today we’ll take a short trip northward to Lake
Baratz, Sardinia’s only natural freshwater lake.
A guide from the Environmental Education Centre will
take us past the lake and across pinewoods to unspoilt
coastal dunes and the beach. We will look carefully
at the fragile dunal plant community, at species such
as Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum and the Sea Daffodil
Pancratium maritimum, as well as the great dune stabilizer,
tufts of the grass Ammophila littoralis. This will also
give us an opportunity to see Europe’s most colorful
breeding bird, the bee-eater, as well as a range of
scrub warbler species. After breaking for lunch in a
local agriturismo, a working farm which serves regional
specialties, we then tour the remarkable necropolis
of Anghelu Ruiu dating back to the late Neolithic Ozieri
culture. We round off the day with a visit to the nearby
historic Sella & Mosca wine cellars, followed by
a degustazione. B,L
Day 5 Aggius & Santa Teresa Gallura
This morning we’ll make an early departure eastward
across the wild interior of Sardinia toward our next
destination Santa Teresa Gallura, situated by the Straits
of Bonifacio opposite Corsica. En route we stop just
outside Sassari at the enchanting 12th century church
of Santissima Trinità di Saccargia, with its
zebra striped façade and Romanesque frescoes.
We will stock up with provisions in Tempio Pausania
for a picnic below the granite peaks of the nearby village
of Aggius. The village—famous for its weaving
tradition—recently received an award for its fine
preservation of heritage and customs. After our picnic
we will stroll through the village and then continue
our journey to Santa Teresa Gallura. Evening lecture.
Hotel Da Cecco (3 nights). B,L
Day 6 The island of Caprera & Capo D’Orso
We will follow the coast down to Palau and take a short
ferry-ride over to Isola della Maddalena and the nearby
island of Caprera. This was where the great Italian
patriot, Giuseppe Garibaldi, retired in his latter years
after his struggle to unite Italy in the mid 19th century.
We will tour his fascinating house—now a well-kept
museum—and learn about his turbulent but hugely
successful career. We will stop for a picnic nearby
under some umbrella pines, and then enjoy some botanizing
along quiet minor roads, looking for orchids such as
Ophrys spp and Serapias spp, and the exquisite wild
Gladiolus italicus. In the afternoon, we will view the
geological marvel of Capo D’Orso, a granite promontory
near Palau, modelled by erosion into the shape of a
bear. B,L
Day 7 Arzachena & the Nuraghic culture
Today our focus is on prehistoric cultures of Sardinia.
We will first head towards Arzachena and the prehistoric
site of Albucciu, one of the Gallura’s best preserved
Nuraghic monuments. It is an elaborate tower combining
an interesting range of architectural elements, built
in the second millennium BC. Our morning of archaeology
is completed with a tour of the so-called Tomb of the
Giants, known locally as Coddu Vecchiu. Carved granite
slabs in a roughly semi-circular formation flank a large
stele, marking the entrance to a burial chamber. We
then stop for lunch in a local agriturismo to sample
local delicacies. Afternoon at leisure to explore more
of the coast, especially around Capo Testa. A late afternoon
walk here should produce plants like Cyclamen repandum
and Narcissus aureus ssp italicus. B,L
Day 8 Mont’Albo, Losa & Oristano
Today we will motor southwestward across the island
to our next destination, Oristano. In the morning, we
will take a brief deviation via Mont’Albo, a remarkable
limestone chain of mountains south of Olbia. We will
walk along a quiet road below limestone cliffs, looking
for crag martins, choughs and raptors, with sheep bells
tinkling in the background. At ground level, overgrazing
and wildfires have produced a garrigue-type vegetation
more dominated by low-growing plants like the yellow
flowering Helichrysum italicum. Our lunch stop today
is right by the Nuraghe of Losa, whose 2nd-millennium
BC perimeter wall gives a good idea of the extent of
this prehistoric settlement. Our hotel in Oristano is
right in the middle of the atmospheric old town. There
will be time to visit some of the major sites, such
as the cathedral and the antiquarium. Evening lecture.
Hotel Duomo (2 nights). B,L
Day 9 Tharros & the Sinis Peninsula
Today we will explore the ancient Phoenician and Roman
site of Tharros, situated on the southern tip of the
Sinis peninsula. We will hear about the Phoenicians
and their western Mediterranean descendants, the Carthaginians,
and note the changes made to the town when the Romans
took it over in about 230 BC. After our visit to the
site we will walk out towards Capo San Marco to see
Italy’s only native palm, the Dwarf Fan Palm (Chamaerops
humilis), standing out in a community of Cistus, Rosmarinus
and Pistacia lentiscus. We break for lunch near the
sand dunes on the promontory, and spend the afternoon
at a historical fishfarm, Peschiera di Pontis. We learn
about traditional fish-farming methods and production
of Bottarga (Fishroe) in the wetlands around Cabras.
Our day round the Sinis peninsula will also be punctuated
by birdwatching on the many Stagni or lakes to be found
in the area. B
Day 10 Giara di Gesturi & Barumini
On our way to the south of Sardinia, our first port-of-call
today is the sleepy village of Tuili, where we will
join our guide for a fascinating walking tour of the
basalt plateau, the Giara di Gesturi. The flowers on
the plateau will be at their very best. Given the plateau’s
relative isolation, this is one of the hotspots for
endemic plants in Sardinia. We will look especially
for the unusual white-flowering Polygonum scoparium
and the endemic lily Romulea requienii amongst the profusion
of spring flowers. A further focus will be to see some
of the 500 wild horses that live and breed there. When
we come back down from the plateau we enjoy a degustazione
of local wines and sheep’s cheeses. After lunch
in a trattoria we will head for Barumini, a town best
known for the main Nuragic settlement on the island,
Su Nuraxi. Originally built in the Middle Bronze Age,
the site was destroyed in the 7th century BC, and then
rebuilt and resettled during Roman occupation. Our guided
tour takes us up near the top of the central tower,
commanding fine views of the surrounding plain. We then
continue our journey southward to the Hotel Monte Arcosu
(1 night). B,L,D
Day 11 Grotta di San Giovanni, Nora and the
Lagoons of Cagliari
Today we head westward to Domusnovas and the nearby
Grotta di San Giovanni. We will walk though the cave
on a tarmac road and learn from a local forest ranger
about the fascinating geology, history and botany in
this mineral-rich area. There will be time to look for
spring orchids—this is one of the best locations
in Sardinia—in the holm oak forest north of the
cave. We will have an early picnic near the Duchessa
mining complex. In the afternoon, we view the ancient
Phoenician and Roman site of Nora. On our way into Cagliari
we stop at the wetland site of Sant’Agilla, looking
for Greater Flamingos and Slender-billed Gulls. Hotel
Quattro Mori (2 nights). B,L
Day 12 Cagliari
We will leave on a walking-cum-bus tour of ancient Cagliari.
We visit the Roman amphitheatre, the archaeological
museum and the cathedral in the historical quarter of
Castello, and walk the city’s ramparts. Our tour
through Cagliari’s two thousand years of history
will end at the the 18th-century Orto Botanico (botanical
gardens) where we learn about the work of the Biodiversity
Conservation Center and its efforts to preserve many
of Sardinia’s 350 endemic plants. Farewell dinner
at a local restaurant. B,D
Day 13 Departure & return home
Transfer to Cagliari airport for flight to Rome and
onward flights home. B
What to Expect:
This expedition is planned for the travel enthusiast
who would enjoy exploring and learning about the spring
flora and cultural and natural heritage of Sardinia.
Travel is by motorcoach, with daily outings on foot
of 1 to 2 miles at a leisurely pace suitable for exploring
archaeological sites, museums, villages, medieval cities,
and nature preserves. Exploration requires some walking
uphill and sites may be extensive. Please be prepared
to actively explore on foot. Binoculars are recommended.
Temperatures will be in the 70’s with a sea breeze.
This expedition is a tremendous experience for travelers
with an appetite for adventure and discovery who would
like to explore Sardinia led by a Mediterranean classicist
and naturalist. (No smoking in vehicles, during lectures,
or meals, please.)
Questions:
Please call Bob Nansen at Betchart Expeditions Inc.
Telephone
(800) 252-4910 or (408) 252-4910, Fax (408) 252-1444.
Email:
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